'Star Wars': Diego Luna to Star in 'Rogue One' Prequel Series

The series for the direct-to-consumer streaming service Disney+ will go into production next year.

Disney is continuing to expand its Star Wars galaxy.

The studio is developing a live-action scripted series with Diego Luna, star of 2016's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. It will go into production next year for Disney's forthcoming streaming service. The series will follow rebel spy Cassian Andor during the early days of the Rebellion and ahead of the events of Rogue One.

"Going back to the Star Wars universe is very special for me,” Luna said of the Rogue One prequel. “I have so many memories of the great work we did together and the relationships I made throughout the journey. We have a fantastic adventure ahead of us, and this new exciting format will give us the chance to explore this character more deeply.”

After several months without an official name, Disney's family-friendly streaming service will be known as Disney+, it was revealed Thursday. That is consistent with the company’s branding for its ESPN streaming service, which is named ESPN+.

Disney will hold an event in April to reveal more information about the forthcoming service, CEO Iger said Thursday during the company's earnings call with reporters. The exec said that he recently traveled to the offices of BAMtech, the developer of the app, and described what he saw as having “elegant navigation” and the ability to personalize content, which will include both new projects like the Rogue One prequel as well as library fare.

The new project is the second Star Wars series Disney has announced for its direct-to-consumer platform and joins The Mandalorian from showrunner Jon Favreau. The announcement of the Rogue One prequel arrives months after Iger revealed in February that multipleStar Wars live-action series were in the works for the service.

Disney+ is designed to be the Mouse House's Netflix rival. The service, which is planned for a launch sometime in 2019, will be home to original and library content from Lucasfilm (Star Wars), Marvel and Pixar. Disney+ has been ramping up its original Marvel scripted series and plans to bring several familiar faces from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the new platform with shows of their own. Iger confirmed it was developing a series to star Tom Hiddleston as Loki. Meanwhile, Disney has begun trimming its Marvel fare on Netflix, axing dramas Iron Fist and Luke Cage as the clock ticks down on how long the feature film library content will remain on the streaming giant.